Navigating the Stars

Sentinels of the Galaxy #1

by Maria V. Snyder

Terra Cotta Warriors have been discovered on other planets in the Milky Way Galaxy. And Lyra Daniels' parents are the archaeological Experts (yes with a capital E) on the Warriors and have dragged her to the various planets to study them despite the time dilation causing havoc with her social life.

When one of the many Warrior planets goes silent, and looters attack her research base, Lyra becomes involved in discovering why the Warriors were placed on these planets. And, more importantly, by who.

Genres: Science Fiction, Young Adult, Fantasy, Space, Romance, Fiction, Aliens

464 pages, Kindle Edition

First published November 19, 2018

About the author

When Maria V. Snyder was younger, she aspired to be a storm chaser in the American Midwest so she attended Pennsylvania State University and earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Meteorology. Much to her chagrin, forecasting the weather wasn’t in her skill set so she spent a number of years as an environmental meteorologist, which is not exciting...at all. Bored at work and needing a creative outlet, she started writing fantasy and science fiction stories. Over twenty novels and numerous short stories later, Maria’s learned a thing or three about writing. She’s been on the New York Times bestseller list, won a dozen awards, and has earned her Masters of Arts degree in Writing from Seton Hill University, where she is now a faculty member. Her favorite color is red. She loves dogs, but is allergic, instead she has a big black tom cat named…Kitty (apparently naming cats isn’t in her skill set either). Maria also has a husband and two children who are an inspiration for her writing when they aren't being a distraction. Note: She mentions her cat before her family.

When she's not writing she's either playing volleyball, traveling, or taking pictures. Being a writer, though is a ton of fun. Where else can you take fencing lessons, learn how to ride a horse, study marital arts, learn how to pick a lock, take glass blowing classes and attend Astronomy Camp and call it research? Maria will be the first one to tell you it's not working as a meteorologist.

Readers are welcome to check out her website for book excerpts, free short stories, maps, blog, and her schedule at http://www.MariaVSnyder.com.

Reviews

[Maria V. Snyder · Rating 5 out of 5]

Of course I'm going to give my own book 5 stars! ;) This is a new SF series - as if you couldn't tell from that gorgeous cover!! I had so much fun writing this book - Lyra's voice is so strong and she has this new kind of snark. She just refuses to be ignored. Another thing I love is that both her parents are alive and well and involved in her life (much to her chagrin). Plus the science of traveling through space very fast is accurate as there's a time dilation, which most SF books/movies ignore as it's really hard to factor that into a story! I did cheat with communications, but I created the Q-net that makes it work ;)

However, not to worry that you'll be drowning in technical SF stuff - it's still my style of writing, action, mystery, some humor and a touch of romance.

[Holly · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars

I've read two other series by this author (Healer and Study), so when I saw she had started a new series I of course gave it a try. This time she went the route of going more YA and also switched to sci-fi instead of her usual fantasy.

While I still overall enjoyed the plot/characters, I'm not sure the world building was quite as effective. The only thing that really stood out as being solidly not of this world is the concept of 'time dilation' she presents. The space crafts utilize a machine that folds physical space making a sort of short cut from point A to point B so that it takes considerably less time to traverse the universe. However when you get to your final destination that would normally take 30 years to reach, but it only takes you 10 days to get there, everyone not on the ship is now 30 years older, but everyone on the ship has only aged 10 days. I actually wish this concept had been further explored - imagine being a teenager forced to move with your parents for their new job, leaving all your school friends behind but you promise to keep in touch. However when you get to your new home only a week later, all your friends you left behind are now in their 30s with jobs and young kids of their own and you're still just a teenager. How crazy would that be?! That's a story I want to read about!

Anyways, back to the real story in this book - the terracotta soldiers in China (true story) in this world have been replicated on several alien planets but the how/why is unknown. Lyra's parents are archeologists so they are being sent to a new planet where some more terracotta soldiers have been found. This story has a twist I did see coming, but I liked that while some of the secrets of the alien terracotta soldiers have been revealed, not all of them had - leaving the rest of the series to have more interesting plot developments/reveals. I'll definitely pick up the next installment, but I don't necessarily know if I will be in a rush to read it.

[Charlie Holmberg · Rating 5 out of 5]

I LOVED this book! Normally sci-fi isn't my first choice of tea, but I got sucked into this one really quickly. Snyder foreshadows things SO well, and I was routing for just about every character I met. XD There's such fantastic mystery woven through this, and I'm DYING for book two to find the answers! (And to, uh, you know. Get some something-something in the romance. Just saying.) I loved how she showed the effects of time-space distortion. We all know about Einstein's theories, but NAVIGATING THE STARS takes a much more social and personal look at them. I think this is Snyder's most clever book to date and I can't wait to continue the series!

[Janelle · Rating 2 out of 5]

I received an e-ARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review

Navigating the Stars has such a cool premise: China’s infamous terracotta warriors are discovered throughout space, and it’s a mystery as to who created them. Throw in some cool hacking, space travel, and time dilation science, and it sounds like a recipe for a great story!

But overall it’s terribly executed. The writing is juvenile and I wasn’t surprised to see in the acknowledgements that it was beta-read by Lynette Noni, because it’s just as inelegant and the sentence structure as terribly constructed as her Medoran Chronicles books. There’s literally a sentence where Lyra “nods importantly” (what the fuck) and another where “liquid sadness” drops down her face. Just say she’s fucking crying!

Lyra’s narration is incredibly juvenile and she reads as a 13 year old, not the 17 that she’s purported to be. She addresses the reader directly at multiple points throughout the text which would be fine, if she remotely sounded like any 17 year old I’d ever met in fiction or the real world. She awkwardly and inelegantly overexplains everything, as if the reader didn’t have two brain cells to smash together and fill in the blanks.

Lyra’s relationship and the love interest himself are also cringeworthy. They have ZERO chemistry and the poorly executed enemies-to-lovers trope goes from 0 to I Would Die For You really quick. Lyra has the maturity of someone who says “hubba hubba” when they see a hot guy, yet thinks about him touching her breasts at their next makeout sesh. It’s weird and awkward to read.

Lyra’s parents were frustratingly inconsistent. They seemed to pick and choose when they cared about her, and yet their negligence is never addressed properly. Either make them the tropey absent parents or make them overbearing - just be consistent!

As for the story? There’s barely a plot to speak of and the threads that are there move at a glacial pace. I got 50% of the way through and contemplated DNFing the book as nothing had happened, and there was no indication of how the terracotta warriors were propelling the story forward.

Needless to say, I got to the end and immediately RAGED that I’d wasted so much time on this story that went nowhere.

I wouldn’t continue with the sequel if you paid me.

[Brenda · Rating 5 out of 5]

It was the year 2471, and seventeen-year-old Lyra Daniels lived with her parents on the planet, Xinji, where her friends – Lan, Jarren, Cyril and Belle – meant everything to her. But when her parents, who were leading archaeologists in the galaxy, told Lyra they were leaving Xinji, bound for another planet, Yulin, she was shattered. And knowing she would never see her friends again, she vowed never to become close to anyone, ever. The spaceship they would travel on would take 90 days to arrive on Yulin – which was fifty E-years (Lan would be sixty-six A-years while Kyra would only be 90 days older)

Boredom set in quickly, so Lyra used the many tricks she’d learned from Jarren to tunnel into the Qnet; worming it was called, and it was highly illegal, but Lyra had confidence in her skills and knew she wouldn’t be caught. But Niall Radcliffe, Lyra’s age but a stickler for rules, and his father, Officer Tace Radcliffe, soon had Lyra’s measure – it wasn’t long before she was helping them instead of spending her days in the brig. And when one of the planets couldn’t be raised - no heat sources or activity – the race was on to discover what had happened.

With their arrival on Yulin, the discovery they were chasing proved exciting for the archaeologists – but there was danger every way they looked. Hidden, invisible, alien – would they survive the imminent attack? Time was fast running out and Lyra’s Qnet skills were needed. But could she be tracked? The future looked terrifying if they didn’t overcome the threat.

Navigating the Stars is the 1st in the Sentinels of the Galaxy series by Maria V. Snyder and I loved it! Fast paced, intriguing, with well-drawn characters, especially Lyra – although each and every character made an impact – the difference between A-years and E-years (Actual and Earth) was fascinating. The imagination of the author to create a book such as this one, with the roles of the different characters played so enthrallingly, captivates me. I'm really looking forward to #2! Highly recommended.

With thanks to the publisher for my copy to read in exchange for an honest review.

[Maggie ☘]

Yes! A new book by Maria V. Snyder. And sci-fi at that! Nothing can surpass my love for Poison Study series, but hoping this one will be close second!
Love the cover! It's one of the best from all Snyder's works.

[Lynette Noni · Rating 5 out of 5]

I had the privilege of reading an early draft of this a little while ago and OMIGOSH IT IS SO GOOD!!! No words!! Maria V. Snyder has done it again!!

[Sarah]

Come on U.K. publishers why have none of you picked this up yet?? I guess I’ll just have to give my money to someone else because no way am I missing this series!
__________

Well I FINALLY got my pretty paperback of this (I prefer the Aussie version to the UK one). For any interested UK people I ended up finding it on eBay and having it shipped from New Zealand (AND it worked out cheaper than the UK self published paperback from Amazon so that was a bonus LOL)
__________

Book Depository to the rescue, I’ve ordered the Aussie version! https://www.bookdepository.com/Naviga...

All I'm going to say is fuck Book Depository and they will NEVER get another pre-order from me again. They're very happy to take your money upfront for pre-orders but couldn't give a shit whether they'll be able to provide you with the book or not. They took my money in July 2018, the book published at the beginning of December 2018 and I've chased multiple times only to be told that they're waiting on stock and will be shipping it imminently. Now I find out that they told my friend back on the 2nd of March that they wouldn't be able to supply this book and they gave her a refund. Have they refunded me? Have they fuck, they've just held onto my cash for over 2 months knowing full well that they will never send me the book. They are about to get a severely pissed off email that's for sure and I'm going to purchase the kindle edition from Amazon!

[Figgy]

The American narrator of this audio (Alice Barrington... because there's another audio edition) does a much better job of an Aussie accent for the one Aussie character than those two narrators of a book SET IN AUSTRALIA did with any of the characters in the audio of Bob.



-- A very long time ago, upon receiving the book --

I've never actually read any of Snyder's fantasy books, but I quite enjoyed Inside Out/Outside In, so I am BEYOND excited to read another of her sci-fi books which, by the way, I didn't know existed until it turned up in the mail!

[trufflebooks · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.75/5 ⭐ This review can also be found on my BLOG!

I loved this book wayyyy more than I expected to and wow, it was such a fun and action-packed journey! Sci-fi books are hard to write and boy did this hit most the right notes for me.

Let’s get some categories up:

World Building & Plot

There’s a lot in this category; sorry not sorry.

I love a good sci-fi read and as a bit of science nerd who knows like 2% about science and space, it was fun learning some stuff while reading this book. One of the things that have always confused me a little is the concept of time in space and in this novel, it’s a huge aspect. While it can be a little confusing to fully understand it at the start, the concept in this novel is ingenious.

Basically, when you’re going to a planet, it takes let’s say, 60 days to get there, so once you get there it’s been 60 days and you’re 60 days older. However, because they haven’t invented the tech yet, even though it might’ve taken you 60 days to get there, 40 years has actually lapsed in the planet you just left. So once you arrive at this new planet, everyone you knew at your old planet is 40 years older. HOW CRAZY IS THAT? I WAS SHOOK.

The way Maria wrote this concept might’ve been confusing at first, but once you get the hang of it, it’s pretty amazing. Her world building and the plot is also very solid as we are introduced to Lyra, the protagonist whom we already read the point of view from throughout the whole book. She’s been travelling from planet to planet numerous times because her parents are archaeologists researching these terracotta warriors that have somehow appeared across a lot of planets, even though they’re from an ancient Chinese dynasty (like the warriors that protect that famous Emperor irl). The big mystery of their work; wtf brought these warriors there and how did they do it?

Since Lyra has travelled so many times, she understands and grasps the concept of living on a ship and at a research base for a long time (especially the whole leaving friends behind kind of thing), and Maria’s descriptions of life on there are so interesting. Especially soc-time; the mandatory 2-hour socialisation session all kids up to the age of 18 must have. I won’t say anymore but I personally really enjoyed how she set the world-building and the story and it was just so succinct.

The plot was so good. Many times I was so bewildered by the action and it felt so real and had me on edge. It reminded me a lot of Illuminae in how the action was depicted and it gave me goosebumps at times. Another thing I loved from the huge Asian rep, the main character, Lyra is mixed Asian and because of those cool Chinese terracotta warriors, all the planets with them have Chinese names. Yes, I may have skimmed them all because I can’t read Chinese or Pinying but I kind of tried. This hit so close to home because as an Asian girl, it’s cool to read more about Asian things sometimes in YA books.

Characters

Lyra was a likeable character, she had a funny kind of snark and was pretty sarcastic. I liked the way her relationships with the other characters including her parents were described and developed. Her worming ability is another cool similarity to Kady’s hacking in Illuminae, but I liked worming and the Q-net was introduced. The love interest, whatshisname, was also an interesting character that was originally the stereotypical brooding bitch but turned into quite a realistic character. I loved how they started to like each other cause I’m trash for the hate to love trope.

I personally liked that this book also featured some great parents. Although they spend so much of their time working, they were sweet and so caring. Other characters I won’t mention were also pretty great and amusing.

Writing

While most of the book was very well written, I feel like the writing is the only minor downfall. The copy I read was an advanced one so I can’t say if there are gonna be any major changes in certain written parts but there were some parts of the book that had me cringe a little. Not because of what was happening but because sometimes, the anecdotal writing style just didn’t fit. Reading Lyra’s pov was fine for most of the books but when she sometimes seems to be talking to you specifically or to her “diary” as you might call this writing style, it didn’t always fit so well for me. I could see what Maria was going for in creating a connection with the reader and getting some more humour in there, but personally, I didn’t particularly enjoy those tiny bits. Other than that, the writing was awesome. The dialogue and the flow of the writing was lovely and I just kept wanting to read more and more.

Overall

This was a great read, I really enjoyed it. It had action, romance, sciency stuff and Asian rep to its core. I’m SO hyped for the next book because, my god, that ending had me wanting so much more. The plot twists, the action, the suspense, I highly recommend this book to any sci-fi lovers. I was truly super surprised by how much I enjoyed this book, so pick it up and let me know what you think!

I’m low key stressed because I’m not sure when this book comes out, so it has either come out on November 16th or will come out tomorrow on November 19th, 2018. Don’t hold me accountable lol

Thanks for reading!

xx Tracy

BLOG | INSTA | TWITTER

A big thank you to HarperCollins Australia and Harlequin Teen Australia for kindly sending me the review copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

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LOVED this book, it's so underhyped, people should be talking about this more! So action packed and had an amazing concept with awesome Chinese roots 😍 highly recommend it and full review to come closer to the release date!

[j bennett ⋆ · Rating 2 out of 5]

Navigate the Stars possesses unique world building and an intriguing sci-fi concept that is ultimately bogged down by juvenile narration, stale romance and a dithering plot.

Snyder sets her latest series across outer explored space, in a universe where humanity has explored the stars. Terra Cotta Warriors have been discovered on planets outside of Earth, and our protagonist Lyra’s parents are the lead archaeologists in charge of investigating them. Jumping from planet to planet comes at a risk, however, with time dilation isolating Lyra from everyone she leaves behind. As Lyra and her parents travel to Yulin, a Warrior planet that has gone dark, she has no idea that they’ve set their trajectory to discover the innermost secret of the Terra Cotta Warriors and why they were scattered throughout the stars.

I have a difficult relationship with this book. By all accounts, it should be a fast favorite with such a compelling premise and sci-fi setting, and there were certain things I really enjoyed about it — in particular the world-building, diversity, themes of loss of home, friends and self, and the overarching mystery of the Terra Cotta Warriors. These were all fascinating points that were ultimately what pulled me over the line to finish Navigate the Stars despite the issues I had with the telling.

Lyra, our protagonist, is every bit the snarky lead the author claims her to be, and I genuinely liked her character. But each good thing about her (her bravery, tenacity and wit) is punctuated by inner thoughts best suited to a middle-grader, not a near adult. One or two things would have been fine — quirky even — but the repetition of childish themes and dialogue created dissonance in the overall narrative Snyder was trying to tell.

I enjoyed Lyra’s friendships overall. She’s a spitfire who charms her way easily into people’s hearts. I even like her friendship with Niall, but the tip towards romance came way too fast with too little chemistry, especially as he treated her poorly for the first part of the book (this is explained and I appreciate the complex emotions with leaving your home behind, but it didn’t help me warm to the insta-romance any better).

The plot had so much potential, but focused too much on inconsequential things at the loss of a fast-pace. There is also a chronic problem of telling not showing, and it has an impact on the delivery of some of the plot twists. I was intrigued by Lyra’s intrinsic connection to the Q-net — a form of galactic communication — and the mystery of the Terra Cotta Warriors, but both plot points were bogged down by the humdrum of Lyra’s daily life and fling with Niall. The ending, too, had the potential to be promising, but introduces more of the same with little to no consequence to the characters.

The plot twist of Jarren being the antagonist was inspired. I honestly love that. However, it's overshadowed by the last 5% of the book. Like, seriously, what was the point of Lyra "dying" and the group having a funeral for her only to come back looking exactly the same just under an assumed name? I understand it was to fool Jarren into believing she was truly dead so he wouldn't come after her, but there's explicit evidence that he can worm into their cameras and files. Lyra isn't even going anywhere or doing anything new apart from some 'training'. The plot point and scene don't hold any weight if people aren't legitimately grieving her loss — it's literally just a name change.

After some consideration, and perhaps at odds with the above review, I think I might continue with this series. I want to know how Snyder intends to resolve the mysteries she’s set up in this first installment, and if Lyra grows up a little. (Also, the second book is only $3.99 on Kindle.) I can appreciate that I am probably not the target audience for this book, but damn it all if sci-fi isn’t my ultimate jam. We’ll see what happens.

→ 2.75 - 3 Stars

[Claude's Bookzone · Rating 2 out of 5]

A very cool concept but this didn't work for me on a number of levels.

1) I think Lyra was meant to be a quick witted and sassy teenager. Unfortunately in my opinion she came across as a bit immature and petulant instead.
2) My head hurt trying to understand the time travel thingy and I am still unconvinced that it was really even necessary in the story.
3) The book had so many things going on (time travel, terracotta warriors, looters, mysterious shadowy figures, worm-something, archaeological digs, romance, code breaking etc), but I feel like nothing much actually happened. All these exciting elements dressed up beautifully with nowhere to go.
4) A romance that felt unnecessary, a bit forced and not very...well...romantic.

I think the whole book needed to be a bit tighter. Cut out the social bits and focus more on the actual mystery, add in a few more action-packed near death experiences (that are actually on-page rather than having Lyra wake up after the fact), and then I feel this would have been a far more entertaining book for me.

[Amanda · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have serious love for this book. Great adventure, intrigue, romance, and banter! This is one of those novels you read as an author and wish you'd written it. I laughed, I sighed, I was on the edge of my seat. Loved every second of it!

[Jeann (Happy Indulgence) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Check out Happy Indulgence Books for more reviews!

As my first Maria V. Snyder book, I was quite disappointed, especially since the blurb promised an exploration of Terracotta warriors in space (which reminded me of Unearthed)!

The sci-fi elements flew over my head, particularly when it came to the space time differing from Earth time and people being too old when you came back to them after being in space. The thing that really interested me about the book was the excavation of the Terracotta warriors on different planets, but even that had limited explanation with the whole focus of this on the main character hacking (or "worming") her way into different systems from one location. They don't really move around to different planets, at all. Most of the plot focuses on the new romance with Niall, trying not to get caught worming but also rebelling against her parents who seem to praise her for everything she does.

I also found the writing rather juvenile, so the book would definitely be suited to the younger YA range. There was also some strange inner monologue which was diary-like - but took you out of the story because it wasn't exactly set out like a diary. I'm hoping the language and editing improved from the Advance Reader Copy that I read, because it was slightly awkward and jarring to read.

The book starts off really slowly and I don't think the pacing ever really improves - I wasn't particularly interested in the plot, or what was happening between Lyra and Niall. I would recommend this to readers who are a fan of lite sci-fi primarily focused on a romance, who prefer younger or even middle-grade YA.

I received a review copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

[Becky · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh my stars! I bloody loved that. It’s 4:09am. I just finished. I have to get up early for work in a few short hours. Do I regret it? Not even a little, tiny bit.

I can’t give justice to what I’m feeling or thinking right now. Just read it. READ IT!

So I love Maria V. Snyder. I wait in anticipation for the day her books are released and then I read them in one sitting.

So its a few weeks later now, and I've read it again, and now feel able to talk more coherently. I'm generally not very good at book reviews, I just want people to read it because I loved it, and I know other people will love it too. So here goes.

Navigating the Stars is the start of a new sci-fi series and it does not disappoint. Normally I'm not a big sci-fi fan. I prefer fantasy, you know dragons, swords, castles and far away kingdoms. But I decided to give Navigating a go because its Maria, and I love her Chronicles of Ixia and Healer series books. Boy am I glad I took the chance!

Lyra is the kind of teen I wished I could have been. She is independent and just a little bit sassy with a heart of gold. She has had to learn some tough lessons early on in life, but that doesn't stop her from wanting to help in any way she can, even if that help isn't wanted and some of the methods she uses may be slightly illegal. That just makes me love her even more. I can sympathise with Lyra in many ways, her parents have dragged her half way across the galaxy, and every time she moves she has to say goodbye to her friends who she will never see again. As a child my own parents relocated me multiple times so I really feel for Lyra in this sense. Luckily there was no time dilation involved, but it definitely is hard to keep saying goodbye. I respect the fact that this doesn't stop Lyra from making new friends, and boy was one friend in particular well worth the effort!

I truly loved this book. I've read it twice since it came out, and both readings were so enjoyable that I'll probably end up reading it a third time before the next book is released.

[Zitong Ren · Rating 3 out of 5]

Provided by the State Library Victoria as part of the Inky Awards.

Navigating the Stars is a young-adult, sci-fi book set several centuries in the future with the main plot being that millions of terracotta warriors made from China over two thousand years ago has been moved by some alien race to these so called ‘warrior planets.’ There’s a bit of world building going on with time jumps to get to other planets quicker and spaceships and the such. It’s a fairly interesting premise and the cover is quite dazzling, though I can’t help but feel that some things bother me.

As expected, it’s a fast paced book, with a romance and lots of plot twists. In terms of originality in writing and plot, there’s really nothing too special. The world building was also a bit under explained at times, though I suppose since this a the first book in a trilogy, some things the author would have needed to keep quiet about. Some things, like soch-time, which is a designated time for socialising, and as annoying as it ways for the main character, was interesting as it shows how the world has become more and more digitalised and it’s a means to get people talking with people.

It’s also during soch-time where the main character, Lyra meets her main love interest, Niall. I honestly don’t see what is so good or likeable about him to be honest. He comes off being arrogant, too sensible and full of sarcasm. The amount of times that he says, ‘I hate to be the sensible one’ got really irritating. Lyra is a much more careful and troublemaker and I felt that their relationship was a bit too forced and I couldn’t really liked the romance.

To be fair, it could be a good book for people to get started into the sci-fi genre as there’s nothing horrible about it and for the most part, people may be at least interested in reading the rest of the books in this series when they come out.

Not much is explained about whatever aliens are in this book, as they are meant to remain a mystery, so the only characters in this book are humans. The villains in this book isn’t revealed towards the end either, which creates some guesswork and the ancient terracotta warriors creates an aura of intrigue and the question of why? There’s also an instant messaging system called the Q-net which is pretty much the internet but the futuristic version and Lyra can do this thing called worming, which is pretty much like hacking into it.

There’s not too much in terms of character development and throughout the course of the book, no one really changes all that much. Lyra is still Lyra, constantly breaking the rules, her parents act like her parents, Radcliff is still a but of a bastard and Niall becomes a bit more open, which I hope is a good sign that the characters will develop more as time goes on, though I can’t help but think if more things should have happened in this book.

There were a lot of things that were well done, but also things that really weren’t all that great, and to be fair, I’ll probably forget about it by the time the second book comes around as it simply wasn’t all that memorable of a read. 5.5/10

[Shelley · Rating 4 out of 5]

*Source* Kindle
*Genre* Young Adult, Science Fiction
*Rating* 4.0

*Thoughts*

Navigating the Stars is the first installment in author Maria V. Snyder's Sentinels of the Galaxy. As the story opens, it is the year 2471. 17-year old Lyra Daniels is the daughter of two prominent archaeologists who have focused their mission on discovering locations of Terracotta Warrior that were originally found in China in 1974. Lyra's parents along with a cadre of experts are heading for Planet Yulin, one of 22 known planets to have Terracotta Warriors. Lyra doesn't want to travel 50 years into the future leaving her friends and her plans on going to college, behind.

*Full Review @ Gizmos Reviews*

https://gizmosreviews.blogspot.com/20...

[Audrey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Since Maria is one of my top five favorite authors, I was thrilled to get my hands on this book. Even better, I enjoyed it.

I recommend skipping the blurb. So what’s it about?

Archaeology!



in space!


The book involves time dilation, ancient Chinese terracotta warriors, and lots of mysteries — I loved the mysteries because there was always something to keep me guessing. Several things I did not see coming, but I am that good at that sort of thing.

We have a very normal YA protaganist with parents who are still alive. The family relationships are very normal and relatable. There’s also an enemies-to-lovers plotline, and Maria pulls it off very well. I usually roll my eyes at such things. The book is also in first person present tense, which I normally hate, but it flows well with the main character’s voice. It takes a skilled professional to pull off present tense, and Maria was able to do it.

There are a lot of run-on sentences and sentence fragments. I don’t know if this was part of the MC’s voice, if there really was a lack of editing. I started penciling in semi-colons here and there in my book.

Content: one f-word, a few s-words in one page; some making out and innuendo; some non-graphic violence

Book Blog

[The Nerd Daily · Rating 4 out of 5]

Originally published on The Nerd Daily | Review by Tracy Truffles

This novel was so enjoyable and even better than first expected. You may know Maria V Snyder for her Poison Study series, well this complex YA sci-fi knocks it out of the ball park.

World Building & Plot
I personally love a good sci-fi read and as a bit of science nerd who knows probably 2% about science and space, this book was truly a fun learning experience even though the science was heavily intertwined with fiction. One of the things that can be quite confusing in this novel is the concept of time in space and it forms a huge aspect of the story. While it can be a little confusing to fully understand it at the start, the concept in this novel is ingenious.

Basically, when you’re going to a planet, it takes, let’s say, 60 days to get there, so once you get there it’s been 60 days and you’re 60 days older. However, because they haven’t invented the technology for it yet, even though it might’ve taken you 60 days to get there, 40 years have actually lapsed in the planet you just left. Therefore, once you arrive at this new planet, everyone you knew at your old planet is 40 years older. It’s not just a little crazy, it’s crazy crazy!

The way Maria wrote this concept might’ve been confusing at first, but once you get the hang of it, it’s pretty amazing. Her world building and the plot is very solid as we are introduced to Lyra, the protagonist whom we already read the point of view from throughout the whole book. She’s been travelling from planet to planet numerous times because her parents are archaeologists researching terracotta warriors that have somehow appeared across a lot of various planets, even though they’re from an ancient Chinese dynasty (like the warriors that protect that famous Emperor in real life). The big mystery of their work is to find out what brought these warriors there and how did they do it?

Since Lyra has travelled so many times, she understands and grasps the concept of living on a ship and at a research base for a long time (especially the whole leaving friends behind kind of thing), and Maria’s descriptions of life there is so interesting. Especially soc-time; the mandatory 2-hour socialisation session all kids up to the age of 18 must have. I won’t say anymore to avoid spoilers but I personally really enjoyed how she set the world-building and the story and it was just so succinct.

The plot was great overall. Many times the action was bewildering and it felt so real and had me on edge. It reminded me a lot of Illuminae in how the action was depicted and it gave me goosebumps at times. Another thing that was very enjoyable was the huge Asian representation. The main character, Lyra, is mixed Asian and because of those cool Chinese terracotta warriors, all the planets where they were found have Chinese names. Yes, I may have skimmed them all because I cannot read Chinese or Pinying but points for effort. This hit so close to home because as an Asian girl, it’s cool to read more about Asian things sometimes in YA books. I’ve never felt this connected and grateful to diversity in YA.

Characters
Lyra was a likeable character, she had a funny kind of snark and was pretty sarcastic. It was great reading the way her relationships with the other characters including her parents were described and developed. Her worming ability is another cool similarity to Kady’s hacking in Illuminae, and the introduction of worming and the Q-net was well written as well. The love interest, whatshisname, was also an interesting character that was originally the stereotypical brooding boy but turned into quite a realistic character. It was so great seeing them as they started to like each other cause I’m a sucker for the hate to love trope.

This book also featured some great parents. Although they spend so much of their time working (and what other readers might say it another trope of the absent parents in YA), they were sweet and so caring. The other side characters were also pretty great, amusing and had more depth than expected.

Writing
While most of the book was very well written, the writing is unfortunately the only minor downfall. The copy I was provided was an advanced one so it’s less likely that there would’ve been any major changes in certain written parts which in unfortunate since there were some parts of the book that had me cringe a little. Not because of what was happening but because sometimes, the anecdotal writing style just didn’t fit.

Reading Lyra’s point of view was fine for most of the book but when she sometimes seems to be talking to the reader specifically or to her “diary” as you might call this writing style, it didn’t always fit so well for the context of the situation. It’s evident what Maria was going for in creating a connection with the reader and getting some more humour in there, but personally, I didn’t particularly enjoy those tiny bits. Other than that, the writing was awesome. The dialogue and the flow of the writing was lovely and it honestly leaves you wanting to read more and more.

Overall

This was a great read that was super enjoyable. It had action, romance, science-y stuff, and Asian representation to its core. We’re definitely excited for the next book because that ending will leave you wanting more. The plot twists, the action, the suspense, this book is highly recommended to any YA sci-fi lovers.

A big thank you to HarperCollins Australia and Harlequin Teen Australia for kindly sending The Nerd Daily the review copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

[Brian 9 ¾ ⚡]

THE QUEEN HAS NEW BOOK!!!!!!!!!!

[Dani (Dani Reviews Things & Love in a time of Feminism) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Now that was surprisingly awesome!

Why surprising? Well, I struggled at the start. My biggest hurdle? Physics. I'm more of a biology nerd and never quite reached the same level of "ahh, I get it" with physics. My brain couldn't fully immerse itself in the story while part of it was still trying to understand how time worked. The first third of the book was a lot of setting up the world and trying to explain time dilation and what it meant for relationships with other people. And to be honest, I still don't completely get it, but I think it eventually became just a Thing to Accept rather than something I could understand.

But then things started to look up, and my engagement in the story gradually increased the more other mysteries arose. Physics, I'm not sold on, but throw in some ancient history, computer hacking, and even some paranormal-biology mash, and I am there. There were so many threads working through this story, slowly connecting, and Snyder managed to make them all work while keeping me hypothesising on all fronts straight through. I loved it. My brain was positively tingling with all the puzzles thrown around for it to work out. And I'm so proud of myself for working one of them out a while before the big reveal.

Adding to the excitement was a lot of action. With not just one threat to consider once on the new planet, Lyra and co. were kept on their toes. People actually got hurt in this, including Lyra. People died! The ending was particularly intense, so much so that I may have shooed away my mom...

Lyra herself was great because she was real. She didn't know what she wanted to do and didn't let others box her in. She tested boundaries and had some snark about it her, but she was also very aware of her adolescent status and who had authority. She also reacted to what was happening, showing fear and grief and so on. It was inspiring to read about a teenager who did get freaked out and feel woozy, but who also tried to help regardless.

I loved her relationship with her parents, who actually acted like parents. They kept an eye on her, set rules and punished disobedience, and they showed they cared about her in many ways, sometimes too much. I also loved how her mom was clearly In Charge while her dad had to sometimes rein in his pride when she did something reckless but with great results.

There was a hate-to-love romance in here that I, naturally, was very happy about. It was a gradual thing at first, and I loved how Lyra almost didn't know what was going on. Somehow, Snyder managed to capture the giddiness of a new relationship and the heat while also countering it with...well...parents. Awkward sex talk anyone? But seriously, Lyra and her special friend were so adorable and so supportive of each other, and I loved it.

So yes, surprising. And while the ending brought some answers, there is still so much to resolve, so I'll be anxiously awaiting the second book. If you like your sci-fi with some action, mystery, and a dash of romance, consider trying this out.

PS – I've been to Xi'an and here are some warrior replicas that made their way to my mom's garden in South Africa!

[Lee at ReadWriteWish · Rating 3 out of 5]

Navigating the Stars is set about 400 years in the future where armies of terracotta warriors, just like the Chinese ones on Earth, have been discovered on several other planets.

The story starts with 17 year old Lyra arguing with her archaeologist parents about travelling to a new planet from the one where they are currently stationed. Space travel technology causes a ‘time dilation’, meaning during the journey she will age only a few months while everyone else not on the spacecraft ages years. That is, when they arrive on the next planet, all her friends from their current posting will be around 50 and she’ll still be 17.

I liked both these ideas - the time discrepancy causing friends and family to make some tough choices, and the inclusion of the terracotta warriors. But there were some other ideas I wasn’t so fussed on.

The Qnet being one. Lyra is a ‘wormer’, which is basically a hacker. She ‘worms’ her way through the vast internet type system to solve a couple of the mysteries surrounding the warriors. I don’t think the net really made sense. It was this all encompassing key to everything in everyone’s life and yet it was illegal to go onto it. There are a couple of scenes when it’s explained to Lyra why she shouldn’t ‘worm’ but, overall, it doesn’t seem logical that the government/corporations of the day could be so easily compromised by teenagers. It also didn’t make sense that Lyra would be able to use the net to work things out that no other scientist around the universe could with just a couple of wriggles of her mouse.

I rarely read young adult books and Navigating the Stars never made me want to rush out and correct this imbalance. (The fact that teenagers are always the ones to save planets/universes etc usually elicits memories of hilarious memes mocking the genre.) The romantic storyline catering to a young female audience was predictable and actually really quite awkward at times. But the thing that *really* annoyed me was Lyra’s way of speaking. Okay, I’m not expecting writers to come up with a whole new language for their characters but I really don’t think teenagers will be using the same slang in the 2400s as they do in the 2000s. They don’t even use the same slang they did 5 years ago, for goodness sake.

There are a couple of mystery plots, some better than others. I really liked the one featuring the disappearance of an entire planet's inhabitants; the whereabouts and fate of all the scientists and archaeologists being unknown. I also enjoyed the question of who built the warriors, and when and why. The mystery plot speculating on the identity of the head of the criminal gang attacking the planet to loot the warriors, however, was far too obvious and it wasn’t even the best reveal.

I don’t think hardcore scifi fans would be too impressed. I guess it could be a nice introduction to the genre but, truly, I think the target audience is younger women who don't usually read scifi.

I had slated the remaining books of this trilogy into my book challenges for the year and I’ll probably still read them; I’m hoping I might enjoy the sequels a little more (as Lyra grows up and Snyder doesn’t need to explain the universe as much), fingers crossed. 3 out of 5

[Linzi Day · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very, very few books send me into an "Oh-No, what the hell will I read next? It's gonna be hard to follow that one..." panic when I finish them. This is one of those books.



I want to be clear here - this is not ... I want the next book in the series NOW! I do ... but that is different.
And it's not because of some horrific and pointless cliffhanger - this book finishes properly. (Yeah!)

The feeling that the cartoon above captures perfectly could maybe be described as "No! No ... I am just NOT finished with these characters ... I am simply not ready to part with them ... I *need* the book to continue"

I wish I could explain why ... but I can't.

I've enjoyed several of Maria Snyder's series. I still think Poison Study is one of the best books I read in 2005. And even 14 years on I can still remember where I was as I read key parts of the story. So much so, that when I re-read it, I still smell eucalyptus and orange from the trees that surround that wonderful reading terrace.

I actively disliked her Inside Out series - so I'm not a fan girl.
I enjoyed the whole Glass series - but I wouldn't rave about it - just good stories and nice characters.

The audio was nicely done btw.

I think that in some of her books Snyder has some magical way of accessing parts of your subconscious and planting her stories and characters in special little places. In the same way that Anne Bishop can.

For me, this was one of those books.

Oh and it's not that I don't think there flaws in it. There were - just that none of them spoilt my enjoyment of the book.

PS - The whole 'overly young adult' (YA) theme which is uber-stressed for the first bit of the book - is there for a reason. And yes, it bugged me slightly especially on the audio, but because it's genuinely needed as part of the plot - just get over it until you complete the story.

[Anne Osterlund · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked the concept involving the Chinese warriors and their existence on many planets. I also found the challenge of planetary travel, time lost, and its impact on the heroine's own life and family to be interesting. The relationships and the mystery behind the Chinese warriors dispersal amidst the planets still have a ways to go after this first book in the series. A lot left to unravel.

[Linda · Rating 4 out of 5]

This new series is quite a departure from Snyder’s Poison Study books. This is SF rather than F and, with a seventeen-year-old protagonist, definitely YA. But Snyder brings her usual attention to detail in world-building and characterization to make this newest venture a very satisfying read.

Lyra is the daughter of archeologists who specialize in the baffling appearance of Terra Cotta warriors nearly identical to those in Xian, China on Earth on numerous alien worlds around the galaxy. The story takes place centuries in the future where humans have explored and colonized parts of the Milky Way and travel is facilitated by technology that folds space but creates time disparities that separate friends and families. When Lyra’s parents are assigned to a new world, she is heartbroken to leave her friends, knowing that by the time she arrives, her friends in their reality would be twenty years older while she ages only by months.

Lyra’s journey and the new world give her the opportunity to meet new friends and develop new skills. These come in handy when she discovers mind-boggling information related to her travels and about the warriors. She’s a very likeable and relatable protagonist whose thoughts and feelings come across as the teen she is but without dwelling on the annoying angst so common in YA stories. There’s a definite love interest, but it doesn’t overshadow the rest of the storyline. Surprise twists at the end of the book promise interesting stories to come as the series progresses.

I’ll definitely look for the next book.

[Chloe · Rating 4 out of 5]

I seriously didn't know if I would love this book - YA sci-fi is so hit or miss for me (and I've come across far more misses), but she delivered. The characters were great, humorous and read like real people. I loved getting to see some adult characters in the book playing major parts (yay for family dynamics!!) The book wasn't bogged down in sci-fi language and technology either, but it still was distinctly spacey, and had a beautiful mystery element to it (and a dash of history which automatically wins a bunch of points for me). Loved the time dilation with space travel - I don't think I've ever really noticed its absence before but I sure will now. The only downside to getting an early copy is that I have to wait longer for the second book - I want it now!!

[Jessica (a GREAT read) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Let it be known that Maria V. Snyder is one of my all time favorite writers and I was positively ecstatic when she told me she was writing a new book! Imagined my devastation when I heard that her US publisher didn't want it, luckily there's the Aussie and New Zealand one that helped to bring this story to life! She is having the book printed in the US, so never fear my friends!

We all know and love Maria for her amazing fantasy reads but this time, she's returning to the Sci-Fi realm! And yes I said, returning! Her first YA series, Inside Out was of a similar genre, but her newest release, Navigating the Stars takes that Sci-Fi element to new levels! This isn't your ordinary space book! I'm usually hesitant with space books because they tend to involve a great deal of science that I fear will be beyond my levels of comprehension, but for Maria I was willing to take that chance and I was not disappointed!

Lyra is just you futuristic average computer hacker living on Planet Xinji with her parents, that is until they've been given a new job assignment on Plant Yulin with a great research opportunity. While her parents are thrilled about the archaeological finds, Lyra isn't happy about leaving another planet and another group of friends. But since she's not eighteen yet, she has no choice to follow her parents.

While on the spaceship to their next home, Lyra is quite miserable. To make matters worse, for being underage, she's forced to participate in a socializing hour filled with everyone underage. There she meets, Niall, who's a grumpy sullen teen her age. She tries to make friends with him, since he's really the only one on the ship her age, but he proves to be too grumpy for her tastes. Which naturally means, a friendship is bound to form later on...and Maria does not disappoint!

One of the other things that made this one a teensy bit hard to comprehend at times--mostly because new world settings with a new spacey world to understand--there's also a bit of time lapse spread over the galaxy. While it took her only 90 days to get to her new home, years have passed on her old home planet. Her best friend is an adult with children and life has moved along. It makes things hard, but Lyra needs her friend's help with translating a strange tablet that she was piecing together for her parents.

When the discoveries on the planet Yulin prove to be so great that they require extra security, Niall's father decides to take his team down to the planet as well and since Niall is just weeks shy of being eighteen, he's forced to go along as well when he wants nothing more to stay on the ship and essentially be an explorer.

Soon the discoveries that Lyra continues to uncover prove to be too great. Her hacking skills get her into trouble and the trouble she uncovers is even more dangerous.

That's all I'll get to on the plot. It's a very detailed and far-reaching one too! The twists and turns the events take is mind-boggling! Again, I will say that things aren't too complex with the plot. For me what got just a tad confusing was all the time jumps and whatnot. How it had been decades for her friends on their home planet and only months for her. It does get explained somewhat in the beginning that I followed easy enough, but later on there were just other things that were related to the whole traveling around time aspect that kind of just went over my head a bit. But naturally, when it comes to that I just rolled with it! Lol. I didn't remain lost for very long, so it didn't impede my reading.

The pacing was pretty spot on! It was well balanced with heart-racing moments with the downtime moments that were great for character building and growth! And of course there was still the deeply ingrained mystery that was brewing that grew in strength as the story went along.

What I did enjoy was the relationships that Lyra had! Not only did she maintain a good relationship with her parents, I loved the romance that was slow to develop between her and Niall! I always love a good slow burn romance and Maria excels at these! Yes, they fall in love within the first book, but so much happens with those short 400+ pages that you can't help but root for them during those flirtatious moments!

Lyra is an unbelievable character too! I love that she has a snarky kind of attitude and a slight problem with authority! She definitely grows over the course of the novel and you see her mature a bit, not that she was immature, but you know, the whole going against authority only to end up working with the authority!

The ending was probably one of the most shocking ones! I admit, I started to make a small suspicion at one point, but really it had no foundation or merit, but in the long run, my gut instinct was right! Lol. What it will mean for future books remains unclear at this point, but it's definitely a groundbreaking kind of ending that will set up an exciting and exhilarating plot-line for the future! I know I am most definitely looking forward to that one!

Navigating the Stars is a page-turning kind of read that you can't help but devour in one sitting! If it wasn't for the holiday I started this over, I would've had this done in a day or two. Real life always gets in the way of the great reads! This is definitely a book you will want to enjoy in one or two sittings as it's simply unputdownable! I cannot wait to see where Maria will take this series next!



Overall Rating 4.5/5 stars

[James · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was absolutely amazing. This is Maria V Snyder’s first attempt at Sci-fi so I curious about how it would be. Absolutely no need to worry.

Lyra and Niall were both such an interesting pair to follow. Lyra just kept doing bad things but for the right reasons. She was also so intelligent for the entire novel. She’s definitely a competent character, but not perfect. Definitely not perfect. Sometimes there are serious consequences.

That brings me to another thing I loved about this book. The parents. They’re actually here. Both Niall’s dad and Lyra’s parents played a huge part of their children’s lives. YA has gotten a little better about this but it was still amazing to see. And none of the parents felt flat. They were great characters but so incredibly flawed too. Niall’s dad is just not good showing his emotions. And he jumps to conclusions, but he cares A TON. Lyra’s parents both see how they put their work ahead of their daughter. It definitely takes a lot to make that epiphany happen though.

There are a few moments in this book that definitely had me like “WTF?” Especially in a certain cave. Because I thought things were going one way. Because it’s sci-fi. Then things went the other way and I was shook. That’s very vague, but let’s just say there are arguably some fantasy elements to this story.

I’m so incredibly excited for the next book in the series. I don’t even think it has a title yet, but can it please be released soon?

[Courtney Autumn · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was my first book by Maria. She's a semi-local author to me, and we picked this as our July book for our local book club at the winery which she'll be attending! I will admit that I was more interested in a witchy type series from her than this, but I can't believe how fast I was drawn into this book, this story and these characters! I also will admit that I have no idea whether her mathematics are accurate for the time and years and all of that; my brain turned to mush, and my eyes glazed over every time I even tried to make sense of it so Maria, I'm just going to blindly trust you on all of that 🤣 I will definitely be finishing the series out and reading more from her. I can't wait to see how the rest of this series plays out!

[Lucinda · Rating 4 out of 5]

I quite enjoyed this book, a sci-fi YA book. There was a bit of romance, but there were lots of interesting parts to the story and I look forward to seeing it unfold in the next book.
It was the 2nd book in a row involving elements from China, though totally not planned. I didn't even realise when I picked this book.